Mentor
by Bwa-Ha-Haaa
Summary: Ace is a troubled student always getting into trouble. This lands him with a new school counselor that's more trouble than Ace is looking for. A serious of events unfold that lead Ace to unravel. Marco does his best to be there for Ace but soon enough a line is crossed when he begins to develop feelings for the man.
1. Enjoy Your Friday

"Who the hell are you?" Ace asked in the rudest way possible.

He was pissed and not in the mood to deal with school matters. He wanted to go home and sleep off his frustration but no he wasn't allowed to do that, he had to spend his time, after school hours, in school. Yea he could ditch, but then again that would only make things worse since his presence there was an order from Whitebeard, a.k.a the school principal.

Ace focused back to the issue at hand, the man sitting in front of him: Marco, the new school student counselor.

The man looked up at Ace, raising one eyebrow in the process. He held a book in his hands and wore reading glasses. He was positioned in a way that Ace assumed was supposed to keep him comfortable long enough for him to finish the book, or at least a few chapters.

Marco closed his book and moved into a sitting position that showed Ace he had his undivided attention.

Ace, on the other hand, was still in the entrance of the door with his bag hanging over one shoulder and his arms crossed. He narrowed his eyes getting more pissed by the minute. He had shit to do and he didn't want to be here. Especially not with this guy, even though he was pretty damn sexy.

"You can have a seat. We're going to be here for a while" Marco said placing his book down and removing his glasses. He pointed to a seat that Ace chose to ignore.

He sat in another seat and continued to try to piss this man off. From past experience, the more you piss off these guys, the faster you get to go home.

Ace looked up at Marco and asked again.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Not the best way to ask is it?" Marco said with a straight face.

Ace couldn't tell what this man was thinking. He held a lazy expression that was practically unreadable. This pissed Ace off even more. Now, how the hell was he supposed to tell if he hit a nerve? Ohh well, he had his ways. He had the gift of making everyone hate or love him whenever he wanted. The man in front of him would be no exception.

"Just say what you got to say. I'm pretty sure we both have better things than to sit here and talk about useless shit that we both know I'm not going to follow." Ace continued

Marco raised an eyebrow giving Ace the feeling he wasn't getting anywhere with this man.

"We are going to be for a long time so I suggest you stop trying to piss me off so you can go home early. It may have worked for the other counsilers but it won't work on me"

_Shit _Ace thought. This man was smarter than he thought.

_Fuck this is going to be a long meeting. _

"My name is Marco and I am the new student counselor as you already know. You're here because Whitebeard has asked me to watch over you for the remainder of your high school years here at Redline High."

"I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself. I don't need anyone to watch over me" Ace stated.

His full attention now on Marco. From the sound of things, Whitebeard seemed like he was assigning Marco to be his freaking babysitter. Who the fuck does that man think he is, giving him a babysitter.

"Of course you don't. You should be able to take care of yourself by now"

"Then what the hell do you mean by taking care of me?"

"I guess you could say I am going to be your mentor" Marco brought his hands together, keeping a grip on the other hand. He watched Ace's reaction hoping it wouldn't be as bad as the teachers told him it would be.

"You mean like my role model?"

Hearing himself say that made him burst into laughter. He held onto his side's feeling the cramp come on from all his laughter. He was practically gasping for air and nearly in tears. Marco remained unaffected by Ace's outburst and simply watched the other, waiting for him to finish.

As Ace began to catch his breath, he wiped a lingering tear and looked back to Marco who still didn't move.

"You're really funny you know that?" Ace stated

"Call me what you like, but that won't change the fact that I am going to watch over you."

"Do what you want, I'm not going to guarantee my 'cooperation' or anything."

Ace stood and adjusted his bag. He then began to walk to the door but before he made it Marco stopped him.

"We are not done."

Ace turned and replied

"Don't have to be. I came so it's fine and I heard all I needed to so goodbye now."

"Sit"

Marco pointed to the chair again and Ace sighed. This man was going to be a pain. Ace turned and moved back to his chair but didn't sit.

"Just hurry up and say what you gotta say. I have things to do"

"... here's my address and phone number," Marco said handing him a small paper. "You have to come to see me in school at least twice a week and on the weekend at least once. If you don't then you will receive detention and be forced to server 4 hours of community service for every time you skip a session. Each session must be at least an hour-long or it won't count."

"What the hell! That's not fair! I have other things to do than waste my time with you!" Ace exclaimed

"Yelling at me won't change the fact that you have to week me 3 times a week. We will continue to have these meetings until the professors begin to see a change in your behavior."

"..."

"Enjoy your Friday. I'll see you at my place this weekend. Call or text me when you're coming over."

With that, Marco got up and grabbed his bag. He looked up at Ace who was furious. If Marco didn't know any better he would have said the boy was engulfed in flames. He gestured Ace to leave and headed for the exit himself.

Ace stormed off of the school grounds as soon as he left Marco's office. He jumped onto his motorcycle, put his goggles on, and drove off.

_TT^TT_

"What's got you so pissed?" Sanji said placing a hamburger and milkshake in front of Ace.

Ace grabbed the burger and ate it all nearly in one gulp. He then grabbed the milkshake and took a few sips. Sanji leaned over the table with an arm on the table, using it to hold his head up. He looked at Ace waiting for an answer, hoping it wasn't too bad. When Ace gets mad shit happens and then more shit happens.

Ace put down the half-empty cup and looked up at Sanji who was waiting.

"The school's getting on my nerves"

"What they say this time?"

Ace sat up and looked around the restaurant seeing if anyone was watching. Fortunately for him, no one was close enough to hear what he was going to say.

"They assigned me to the new counselor."

Sanji raised his eyebrows

"He's supposed to be my mentor or something"

Ace grabbed the milkshake again and chugged the rest down. Sanji smiled and grabbed the empty plates putting them beside him.

"So what? Don't you always get rid of them somehow? I mean it's not the first time they tried to 'show you the right path' and shit."

"They're taking it seriously this time. All the others didn't really give a damn about me especially after I ignored everything they said."

"How's this guy different?"

"For one Whitebeard sent him so that can't be good. Besides, I have a gut feeling it's going to be different. This guy's hard to read and I have no idea what he's like. I need information on him so I can see what makes him tick or blackmail him into letting me go."

"That bad?"

"Say I have to see him 3 times a week for an hourly session. And one of those days has to be on my motherfucking weekend!"

"..."

"They also made this rule saying if I skip or ditch, I have to do community service hours. Four of them, per session!"

"That's cruel"

"I know!" Ace exclaimed slapping his hand on the counter. "Besides, even if i did continue skipping they probably would hold back my graduation and I can't have that. I promised Sabo before he died I would finish school. So I need to get out ASAP. I don't want to be there for any longer than I have to be" he sighed

"I'll get you some chocolate mousse. Will that brightens your mood?" Sanji smiled

"It'll help," Ace said grinning

Sanji nodded and grabbed the empty plates beside him. He headed back to the kitchen and began making his chocolate mousse. Ace sat back in his chair in the most comfortable position he could find at the moment. His head was hanging on the back of the chair so his vision showed the world upside down. He watched some people eat and talk.

He moved his head to the left when he saw something interesting.

"Green hair?" he said softly

"Zoro!" he yelled excitedly lifting himself back up and nearly falling out of his chair

"Careful. I don't need you getting any injuries to the head. You can't afford to lose any more brain cells" the green-haired man said crossing his arms.

"Hey!" Ace said acting as though he was offended. He gripped the chair tightly to keep himself from falling over.

"What's up?" Zoro said smirking as he took a chair next to Ace

"Crappy as usual just worse."

"Hmm" Zoro nodded

"Came to see Sanji?" Ace asked curiously

"Yea"

"How are things between you two?"

"Terrible, I can't stand the guy" Sanji's voice interrupted

"Hey," Zoro said smirking. He leaned closer to Sanji reaching for a kiss

Sanji gave him a small peck on the lips. Ace watched but not because he was a creep, because he really liked their relationship. Even though they did argue a lot they were 'cute'. Man, did he sound super gay right now. He shook his thoughts away and focused back on what Sanji held in his hand. Chocolate mousse!

Sanji looked at Ace who was practically drooling at the sight. It was his favorite chocolate food-related item after all. Sanji sighed and handed off his masterpiece and watched as Ace devoured it.

"thanks" Ace smiled

"Anytime" Sanji replied

Ace stayed for another hour talking with Zoro before leaving the restaurant. He was still in a bad mood but Sanji somehow knew how to lift it up. Ace looked at the road ahead of him seeing a red light come on, slowed down, and soon came to a halt. He looked to the random building lined up next to him to pass the time. Soon the green light popped up and Ace was on his way again.

_TT^TT_

Ace threw his jacket on the ground and dropped onto his bed. That was one of the worst days he ever had. What made it even worse was that he was having a bad day on a Saturday! That made to shitty days in a row!

Ace turned over now staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep, but was interrupted by the sound of his phone vibrating. Looking over to his nightstand, he stared at the clock.

_7:00pm_

"Ughh! It's too freaking early for me to sleep on a Saturday!" He yelled at himself.

Ace sat up and pulled out his phone, hoping it was someone who wanted to go set something on fire with him. Unlocking his phone he looked for the name of the person who texted him but there was none, it was just a number.

Ace narrowed his eyebrows and looked at the message

'_Don't forget you need to see me sometime this weekend. If not you have to do the community hours _

_-Marco_'

Shit! Ace completely forgot about that! He was too busy with other problems, like the gang who just finished jumping him. The biggest mistake they ever made.

"Today or Sunday?" Ace said softly.

He looked down at his bed cover and noticed the red stains that looked fresh.

"And now I'm bleeding" he frowned

Ace threw his phone aside and walked to the bathroom, stripping along the way. He checked his body looking for the source of blood. He didn't remember getting stabbed or anything, or at least he didn't feel anything. Probably had to do something with his adrenaline pumping at the time.

There it was! On his left side, a huge wound. How did he not see it sooner? It was practically oozing with blood. Ace sighed and bent down to grab the first aid kit under his sink. He pulled out some disinfectant chopper, Luffy's friend who happened to be a doctor, gave him the last time this happened. He applied it and immediately felt the sting. Ace flinched at the pain as he applied it. After he was done he washed off the excess blood. Finally clean and disinfected, Ace applied a large bandage and taped it down. It seemed to be more superficial, nothing that required stitches. At least that what he thought.

He left the bathroom and grabbed a clean pair of pants and a shirt that he didn't mind getting bloody if the wound happened to open.

Ace reached for his phone and looked at Marco's message one more time.

'_On my way now. Hope you enjoy the fact that you're ruining my weekend' _he sent

_***bzz bzz* **_

"Hmm?"

Ace looked back at his phone

'_Here's the address….'_

Ace memorized the address and headed out the door.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

_Thanks for reading the first chapter of Mentor. I originally released this a few years ago but ended up deleting the whole series. I've gone back and made a bunch of changes and corrections to make the storyline much better and fixed some errors I previously made. Its been a while since I have been on this site so if you are interested in more just let me know. _


	2. It Starts with a Smile

"The world really hates me!" Ace yelled out

Rain poured down. It was heavy and cold to the point where he could see his breath. When he left his place it was cloudy but he didn't expect it to pour this quickly. His vision was blurred. He wore goggles to help block the rain from his eyes, but the rain instead attached itself to the goggles. The lights were the only thing helping him see where he was going.

Why did it have to start raining now? Why couldn't it have rained some other time, like when he was already getting to Marco's place or after he left and was home.

Ace squinted his eyes and was able to figure out where he was. He turned left and moved to the third house on the block. He parked his bike and removed his goggles, leaving them on the bikes handle. He then quickly jumped off and ran to the house in front of him. Taking shelter under the house, he began to bang on the door. After about 2 minutes, the door finally opened.

"Took you long enough!" he yelled at Marco

Not letting him reply, he stormed into the house. Marco closed the door behind him then looked at Ace. He seemed to forget his anger and instead was admiring his home. Yes, it was a pretty nice house. There were a lot of beautiful paintings hung up and the furniture that was in the room was simple but very well put together. The room held various light grey tones giving the home a more elegant feel to it. Marco watched for Ace for a bit, he didn't give him the reaction he was expecting.

Ace quickly took note of how must have looked and quickly returned to holding an angered expression. He rubbed his nose and frowned again trying to avoid eye contact. When Ace was back to his rude self Marco offered him a shower his dyer to clean up but of course Ace refused.

He finally settled for borrowing a towel and some shorts. Marco showed Ace his guest bathroom, which was an actual bathroom with a shower and everything, that was located downstairs by his living room. The place was big but it wasn't that big. It was two floors. But from the looks of it, it had more of a townhouse design than anything Ace thought. But he still came to the conclusion that Marco was rich somehow. Which was odd considering he was just a public school counselor.

He removed his clothes while Marco was off getting him something to wear. He was somewhat relieved he chose not to wear boxers but slightly embarrassed at the same time.

He stood there with a towel covering his manhood with his clothes scattered on the floor.

At some point, Ace left the bathroom and started wandering around. The place was really nice, something he would never say out loud.

"Like it?"

Ace quickly turned around seeing Marco stand with a pair of clothes in his hands. Ace blushed lightly, slightly embarrassed that Marco caught him admiring his home.

"No," he said lying

"Your face said otherwise" Marco smirked

"..." Ace blushed again, this time more noticeable than the last.

"Here put these on before you catch a cold," Marco said throwing the clothes to him. "You should at least be dressed if your going to wander around someone's home"

Ace passed Marco, heading for the bathroom. Marco smiled and sat down on a nearby couch waiting for Ace to finish.

TT^TT

"What the hell are you so embarrassed about?" Ace told his reflection "Focus!" he said while giving himself a slap on the face.

"Shit!" he yelled, noticing his bandage was falling off. The rain had weakened the hold it had on Ace's skin.

He quickly applied pressure on the bandage to hold it in place while he changed. He used his free arm to put on shorts Marco had lent him. Then he grabbed a towel and placed it around his neck. He would use it later to dry his hair while Marco was talking. That way he had some sort of distraction.

He took his hand off the bandage, hoping the pressure he had put on it would be enough to get it to stay in place. But that had failed. It began to slide off, so he decided to just remove it. He looked at the shirt Marco had given him. Pink… cute. He left his wet clothes in the bathtub and left the shirt laying on the floor. He wasn't a big fan of shirts, to begin with.

As Ace entered the room Marco looked up at him raising his eyebrow wondering why Ace was holding he said like that and why he still wasn't fully dressed.

"Got any bandages?" Ace asked putting on an innocent smile

"Yea, follow me"

Marco got up and headed toward the stairs. Ace moved out of his was and followed him upstairs.

"What did you do?" Marco asked as they walked.

"If I told you, you'd yell at me then tell Whitebeard everything"

"What makes you so sure"

Ace remained silent. It was a ridiculous question. Whitebeard sent him. He would obviously be reporting everything that was happening back to him. Ace had hated Whitebeard for a long time. Ace had been a part of a gang not too long ago. And one of his rivals was the Whitebeards. But unlike most local gangs Whitebeard ran a large corporation so it was easy for him to avoid law enforcement. After a series of events, Ace ended up leaving his gang and agreed to join Whitebeard. But he had never met the crew or initiation which was strange. And suddenly Marco had appeared saying he was supposed to be a mentor? What kind of shit was that!? Ace was a wild card and he knew it. But what did school matters have to do with Whitebeard?

They had reached the top and Marco turned to the right. They were in a hallway that was rather big and had 3 doors. One at the end and two on the way. Marco seemed to be headed to the one at the end and Ace followed but decided to argue some more, maybe he would be able to get Marco to spill some information as to what was really going on.

"What kind of counselor asked to see his students outside school hours?"

Marco opened the door and lead Ace in the room.

"This is my room. Wait on the bed." Marco said before heading to the room's bathroom.

He came back with a first aid kit and a few small towels. Ace let go of his side and let the bandage hang. Marco took a seat next to Ace and began to remove the bandage. The wound that was there seemed to be closing around the bandage which explained how it still managed to hold on.

"Lay on your side and put your hands above your head" Marco ordered

Ace did as he was told and laid on his side with his arms lying above his hands. Marco got out a small pair of scissors and started cutting the loose ends of the bandage off. The wound had started rebleeding at some point and had completely changed the color of the bandage.

"I got jumped," Ace said quietly. He grabbed a pillow and laid his head on it, getting comfortable.

Marco didn't respond but Ace waited for him to say something. Here moved the loose ends completely and grabbed a new bandage from the kit. He grabbed a small bottle of alcohol and placed it near him. He focused his attention back to the wound and grabbed a piece of the remaining bandage.

"This is going to hurt," he said

Ace looked up at Marco who was gazing at the wound.

Marco started to pull off the bandage. He had to do it slowly, so he wouldn't cause more damage than needed. Ace flinched, but the pain was more than he had expected. When the bandage was finally removed, Marco had a good view of what the wound and how serious it was.

From the few seconds of examination, he could tell it was a superficial wound and it would heal fast although it would require stitches to keep it from reopening. The wound would keep reopening if it was left as it, making the healing process tougher.

Marco grabbed a towel and placed it over the wound. As he did this, he used his other hand to grab a needle and a wire.

"Hold the towel," Marco said

Ace did so and watched Marco as he put the wire through the needle's hole. Ace removed his hand when Marco looked at him and nodded. The towel was then removed and alcohol was poured over the wound.

"Are you also a doctor?" Ace asked wincing slightly

"No but I do have some knowledge on how to handle these kinds of wounds," he said as he began to stitch up the wound.

"And why is that? Were your last students so bad that you had to learn how to fix them up."

Marco laughed at the comment. Ace smiled at himself, funny as always. Marco didn't seem that bad. He hadn't yelled or given him any smart comments given their current situation. But it was probably the blood loss getting his head mixed up.

Marco tied together with the last stitch and cut the wire. He poured some more alcohol on the wound then cleaned up the blood and excess alcohol with the other towels he had brought. After that, he grabbed the new bandage, he had already prepared, and place it over the wound. He taped it up and took sighed in relief.

"There it's done"

Ace flopped over to where his back was on the bed and Marco got up picking up the used supplies. He reached for a towel when he realized Ace had fallen asleep, and quickly too. His hands laid over his head making him look like a child who had just got back from a long day of play.

Marco smiled then left to put away the supplies. When he came back, he held a clean blanket. Ace mumbled a little when Marco moved him over enough to get the bloody blanket off the bed. Marco tossed the dirty blanket aside and placed the clean one over Ace. Just as he was about to pull away Ace had grabbed a part of his short and held one. Moving slowly he managed to remove his hand gently without waking him up. He reached to the floor and picked up the dirty one before heading to the door. Marco turned back one more time to look at Ace. He gave a soft smile before turning off the lights and leaving.

TT^TT

Ace turned over, slowly opening his eyes. He started looking around and noticed he wasn't in his room. When he finally realized where he was, he quickly jumped off the bed. He gathered his thoughts to try and remember what had happened.

Stitches…

Ace reached and touched his wound. Marco did a good job. The wound was clean, stitches were done well, and it didn't hurt anymore.

Ace looked down at the bed noticing the bedsheets had also been changes. He frowned thinking Marco would yell at him for getting his sheets dirty and for showing up to his place all fucked up and stuff. He was too busy fixing him up to actually scold him but now that it was done, he had nothing stopping him.

He sighed and began making the bed. He made it quickly, but well enough for it to be called clean. He headed to the door and wandered the hallway looking for the blonde man. Yet again he was impressed by the beauty of the house. He smiled to himself and soon neared the stairs. He walked down noticing the wonderful craftsmanship of the railing. Ace grew up in foster care but he never lived in nice places. So whenever he ended up in a nice place, he had a tendency to admire it.

"Man I love this place," Ace said to himself

"Glad you like it" Marco replied making Ace nearly fall off the stairs

"Don't scare me like that!" Ace yelled as he grabbed onto the railing.

Marco gave a small chuckle then looked at Ace in a friendly yet loving manner. Ace blushed a little, which pissed him off even more, and quickly looked away.

Marco stood at the bottom of the stairway, watching Ace come down. He wore some white and blue striped pajamas. Well more like pajama pants and shirtless.

"So what now?" Ace asked

He wanted to go home but at the same time, he was pretty sure Marco wasn't going to let him. He could hear the rain pouring outside, and it wasn't exactly gentle. Plus he fell asleep before their session actually began.

"Want something to eat?"

Ace practically jumped the man. He was starving!

"Of course!"

"Let's go to the kitchen." Marco turned around and led him to the kitchen which was only a room away.

Ace walked behind him watching the blond man's hair sway a little as he walked. He hadn't noticed before but Marco's hair kind of looked like the top of a pineapple.

The kitchen was what Ace expected: huge, fancy, and beautiful. His eyes lit up when he was the size of the refrigerator. He almost ran to the fridge to consume every piece of food and Marco noticed Ace was holding himself back. He had heard about Ace's appetite from a mutual friend. He was expecting him to jump into his refrigerator but he hadn't. Instead, he drooled a little and started to shake from anticipation. Ace hadn't eaten in hours and he wanted food so much. He imagined all the delicious food waiting in Marco's refrigerator, making him want it more.

"You can get whatever you want," Marco said smiling

"Really… you're sure...did they tell you about…"

"Just eat"

"You're gonna regret it" Ace smirked then went straight to the fridge

He was right, the fridge was full of delicious-looking food. If he were to die now, he would be forever in peace. Well not now, after he finished eating

Ace grabbed some bread, turkey, lettuce, mayo, and everything else to make a beautiful sandwich. He turned around and placed all the food on the island in the center of the kitchen. Marco moved to the food closet on the other side of the kitchen and pulled out two different bags of chips. He moved to Ace and hand them over to him.

"Here. Goes well with the sandwich."

"Thanks. What do you want on yours?"

Marco raised his eyebrow. He was surprised to hear Ace say _he_ was going to make _him _food_._

"What?" Ace asked somewhat annoyed

"Never thought you would offer to make my food."

"I'm not going to come to, practically a stranger's house and eat all the food without giving the owner some too. I know people think I'm just a useless bastard but I… never mind just tell me what you want on your sandwich before I changed my mind" Ace said frowning

"Sorry"

"Don't apologize." Ace said calmly but still annoyed

"Give me three slices of turkey, mayo, lettuce and a slice of cheese," he said taking a seat on one of the chairs tucked under the island

"Coming right up! You'll see, this going to be the best sandwich you ever tasted" Ace grinned, never taking his eyes off the food.


	3. Anniversary

"So you like him?" Zoro chuckled

"I am just saying he is a nice guy. I mean he isn't like any of the jerks I had to deal with in the past" Ace replied

"That's not what I asked. Do you _like _him?"

At this point, Ace and Marco had been meeting for a few weeks. Ace had grown to like seeing the older man. Meetings weren't what he expected. He was basically just hanging out Marco and raiding his kitchen when he met him at his place. Somewhere along the lines, he had developed a small crush on him. He wasn't able to figure out why Whitebeard had sent him but he didn't have much motivation to figure that out. He was just going along for the ride… for now...

"no... yes.. ahh! I don't know! It's weird and complicated. I mean he's attractive and has a great bo… nope, not going there!" An ace flopped over on the couch looking at Zoro who was laughing at him

"You like him!"

"Maybe" Ace pouted

"What are you going to do?"

As Ace was about to reply, Luffy walked in slamming the door open behind him. He walked in slouching with an aura of depression surrounding him. Ace and Zoro looked up to him as he slammed the door shut and made his way to the kitchen.

"What's wrong Luffy," Zoro asked

"Yea what's wrong Lu? Did Something Happen? Need me to kick someone's ass?"Ace added

Luffy took some food from the refrigerator then went to sit next to Zoro.

"Lu?" Ace asked sitting up

"I want to see Sabo this year," he said looking up at Ace

Ace completely froze. Anger, sorrow, and confusion began to take over, bringing him into a state of depression. Luffy snuggled against Zoro as Zoro placed his arm around Luffy to bring him closer.

"Ace I wanna go," Luffy said firmly

"Then go." Ace said avoiding Luffy's gaze.

"You have to come with me. We both need to go Ace!" Luffy said worriedly

"Luffy I… I can't…. Listen I gotta go. Zoro take care of my brother"

Ace grabbed his jacket and walked out the door. Luffy and Zoro stayed on the couch, silent. Luffy's eyes filled with tears that soon dropped down his cheek and onto Zoro's chest. Zoro embraced the boy and attempted to calm Luffy down.

Ha gazed at the door wondering what Ace was planning

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ace drove beyond the speed limit to a place where he knew he would forget. It was the middle of the day and he was bound to get caught but he didn't care. He needed to forget.

Sabo's death anniversary was close and he was trying to keep his mind off of it. He never visited the grave, never. Luffy always wanted him to go but he just couldn't. It wasn't right. _Not for him at least._

Ace found himself at the front of an old bar he went to every year. He placed his keys in his pocket and headed to the entrance. The bar was quiet and when it wasn't any problems were dealt with quickly. It was one of the few reasons Ace went there.

When he entered, he noticed no one was there but the bartender, an old friend.

"Ace?" he asked curiously

"Hey Law"

"What are you doing here. Wasn't expecting to see you till, well you know."

"Yea, some things came up and I decided to come here."

"This early? Nevermind. What do you want to drink?"

"Give me the strongest thing you have"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was almost midnight and Ace was completely drunk. The bar was busier than usual so Law was too busy to keep an eye on Ace. But that didn't mean he was alone. Ace had a way with people, so he had already made friends.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Ace?! what are you doing here!" Marco asked worriedly.

It was three am and Ace was completely wasted. There was a strong scent of liquor and his eyes were red and puffy. He stood in front of Marco's door wobbling, trying to keep himself up.

"Marco?"

"Ace are you alright?" he said placing his hand on his shoulder

"Sorry," he said putting on a fake smile "I was driving without thinking and I just ended up here. I should go"

As Ace was turning Marco stopped him and grabbed his arm pulling him inside.

"You're not going anywhere like this." He frowned angrily.

Ace knew he was going to get yelled at for being like this but right now he didn't give a damn. He was depressed, drunk, and probably wasn't going to remember anything anyway.

As soon as he made it inside he felt something in the back of his throat and ran to the bathroom nearby. Marco saw Ace cover his mouth and knew what was coming. He quickly headed for the kitchen and grabbed a medical box he had on the top of his fridge. Opening the box he found a bottle of pills to help Ace's condition. He took them out then headed to the bathroom.

Ace was leaned over on the sink washing his face. He looked up to his reflection in the mirror but was met with Marcos' own reflection. Their eyes met but Ace looked away the moment it happened.

"Here," Marco said handing him the bottle

"Thanks"

Ace took the bottle and pulled out two small pills. He placed them in his mouth then took some water from the sink and drank them. When he was done Marco handed him a towel and waited for Ace to say something.

"Sorry"

"Why are you like this?" Marco crossed his arms

"Shit happened," Ace said, moving to leave the bathroom.

Marco slammed his hand against the other side of the wall, stopping Ace from moving any further

"From what I understand shit happens to you all the time but that's no excuse to be in this condition."

Ace looked up at Marco, sorrow filling his eyes. The tears that had stopped started to come again and were soon spilling over.

"Please just… I don't want to..."

"Ace.." Marco said worriedly. He wrapped his hands around Ace and brought him into a warm hug. Ace completely broke down. He started to let out all the bottled emotions and cried as he grabbed onto Marco.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Marco looked at Ace, who was sleeping on the couch. He had cried himself to sleep earlier when Marco had gone to the kitchen to get him some cold water. He let out a sigh wondering what had gotten into him. He had done his research on Ace before meeting him, so he had a good idea of what he was like. Whitebeard had asked him to look out for him so he wanted to make sure he was well prepared to deal with a teenager. Ace had been through some serious issues in the past but he had not seen anything concerning them since they began their sessions. If Ace was in a bad mood he'd curse and yell. He occasionally got into fights but never anything too serious.

Marco went to the drawer located near the couch. He slid it open and pulled out a blanket, then placed it over Ace. He knew the morning would be a challenge, specifically because he had a strong feeling Ace would not talk to him about what had happened. Marco never expected to get attached to Ace so quickly. Whitebeard wanted to bring him into the crew but after he graduated high school. Ace was well known in the underground fighting arena. That's where he had met Ace. Over time Ace enjoyed his company and agreed to join, but Whitebeard had a few conditions for Ace. This included Ace finishing school. Marco wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but he respected Whitebeard like a father agreed to help him. Somewhere along the lines, Marco grew to like the boy a little more than he should.

Marco knew Ace liked him, even though Ace tried his best to not show it. It was the only reason Ace showed up to all the sessions and started opening up to him. It was also the reason he came here tonight. Ace didn't want to be alone. He had other people he could have gone to, but he had come here. Marco felt a hand grab onto his. He looked at the hand then to Ace who was still sleeping. He decided it was best to stay with him.

He took a seat on the couch and lifted Ace's head, placing it on his lap. Taking some of the blankets to cover himself, he made sure Ace was covered well too. He reached for the lamp and turned off the light. Then, he placed his hand Ace's stomach and fell asleep.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ace felt a certain warmth cover him. It wasn't like the kinda blanket or jacket gave you, it was warmer in a different way. He opened his eyes slowly but winced from the pain in his head from all the alcohol he had drunk. Placing his hand on his head as he groaned. He looked next to him and saw a sleeping Marco. Ace froze then and attempted to process what was going on having no recollection of what had occurred that night

Marco felt Ace's movements and began to wake up. He let out a small yawn and looked at Ace who held a confused face.

"What's wrong?" he asked

Ace snapped back to reality and jumped off the couch. The pain grew stronger and he found himself kneeling on the ground holding his head.

"You shouldn't move so fast," he said grabbing ahold of Ace's arm, slowly pulling him up.

"I'm fine" he groaned

"Sure you are"

Marco sat Ace back onto the couch alongside him

"Damn I need some coffee" Ace complained

"Aren't you not supposed to drink coffee?"

"Yea but it helps at times like this" Ace forced a smile

"doesn't mean it's good for you" Marco replied crossing his arms

"Hey, it's either that or sleeping pills." Ace said hoping to defend himself.

"That's even worse for you"

"There are a lot of things that can hurt me but that doesn't stop me from living now, does it?" Ace said sarcastically.

"I'll get you some water with ice and a headache pill. That's all you're getting" Marco said sternly.

Ace frowned as Marco left the room. His headache was getting worse and he was still trying to remember how he ended up at Marco's place anyways. Speaking of which, the last thing he remembered was… Ohh yea, that! Luffy was…

Ace's began to frown

When Marco came back he noticed Ace's change instantly. He walked across from him and bent down to where the eye levels were equal

"Ace, what happened?"

"Nothing"

"You can't really expect me to believe that"

Ace lifted his head and took the cup and pills out of Marco's hands. He drank it then placed the empty cup on the table in front of him. Marco remained in his spot, patiently waiting for a reply. Ace looked back at him and knew Marco wasn't going to let this go.

"Alright something happened but I'm not going to tell you what. It's personal and I don't need to tell you a damn thing" he said defensively

"That is true but you are the one who showed up at 3 am drunk and crying"

"I'm not so don't worry about it!" Ace crossed his hand blushing, looking away

"You came to my house in the middle of the night, drunk, on your motorcycle! You could have gotten into an accident! That's something stupid and I know whatever got you as this will happen again. I may not have known you for a long time but I know you well enough to know when something bad is going to happen!"

"Mar...Listen I… I can't. Please don't make me remember" Ace buried his face in his hands

Marco sat next to Ace and pulled him closer to him; bringing him into his embrace.

After Ace got himself back together Marco let him go.

"I should really get going," Ace said pulling his hair back from his face.

"I don't think you should be alone right now."

"I'll be fine. I'm a big boy" he said, giving Marco a small smile

Marco stood up and told Ace to do the same. Ace gave him a confused look but stood and almost immediately Ace fell back down onto the couch.

"See. You're in no condition to go anywhere. What did you have last night?"

"I don't remember" Ace chuckled nervously.

Marco raised his eyebrow then let out a loud sigh. Ace smiled nervously and assured Marco he didn't have anything _that _bad.

"I'm hungry," Ace said as he touched his stomach.

A loud growl followed his words and a small chuckle left Marco.

"Let's get you some food." He said

Ace stood up, slowly, and was able to keep his balance. Marco offered a hand but Ace refused of course. He walked, wobbling of course, but made it to the kitchen without falling over. Marco went to the fridge and asked Ace what he wanted to eat.

"Anything's fine" he replied

"How much time can you wait"

"Is that a trick question?" Ace smiled

"How about hamburgers?" Marco said looking back to Ace

"Holy crap! You have hamburgers!" Ace exclaimed nearly jumping out of his chair.

"Yea, there right here" Marco replied pulling out the fresh patties.

He set them on the table and saw Ace eying them, practically drooling already.

"Marco you're the best!" He said

Marco felt a surprising heat rush to his cheeks. Ace noticed what he said then started blushing too. Marco quickly turned and made his mind focus on cooking. Ace looked away hoping Marco didn't notice his color change and hoped his emotion would calm down.

"Holy Shit!" Ace suddenly yelled

Marco quickly turned back to Ace and noticed the color had completely left him.

"What wrong"

"I'm going to be late for school! They're going to kill me!"

Marco let out a relieved sigh and began to laugh

"What?!" Ace said defensively

"Don't worry about that."

"You're a teacher shouldn't you be encouraging me to go to school and stuff" Ace replied in a somewhat nagging tone

Marco went back to cooking but answered Ace's statement

"I called in for you so you won't get in trouble. Oyagi said it was ok and he would take care of everything."

"So no detention? Community hours? Extra homework? yelling?"

"Nope. Well I'm still going to yell at you for drinking how you did but other than that you're fine"

"If you're going to yell at me then do it, and who is this Oyagi?"

"You don't know?" Marco asked curiously

"Nope, not a clue. Should I?"

"No, not really."

"Now I want to know!"

"Tell you what I'll tell you if you, at last, tell me something I don't know about you."

"That's not very fair"

"Really, how so?"

Marco continued with the burgers. He had already finished cooking two patties and was working on the rest. He placed the finished ones on a plate and added fresh ones to the pan. Ace stared at the food as he talked but every time Marco looked back at him, he made eye contact.

"If I really wanted to know I would just use my sources to find out. Plus, if I tell you, you'd tell the principal and get me in trouble or start more crazy rumors about me." Ace replied leaning against his hand for support.

"You still don't trust me."

"Not really."

"And why is that?" Marco asked turning fully around, crossing his arms, giving Ace all of his attention.

"It's nothing personal, just haven't had any good experiences with your people."

"..."

"Don't get me wrong I really like you and… crap that wasn't supposed to.. don't misunderstand… I don't mean like like... just forget everything I said!" Ace said quickly trying to avoid the conversation.

"Oyagi is my father, well adoptive. He's Whitebeard… a member of the school board" Marco said as he went back to cooking

"You mean he's… what! Should you really be telling me this? Won't you get in trouble?" Ace asked, regretting he ever brought it up

"You wanted to know"

"Great now I feel like shit"

"I thought you already knew"

"Why would I know?"

"Sources"

"It's not like I stalk you!" Ace blushed lightly

"Here," Marco said handing Ace a plate of two burgers. He placed the toppings next to him to choose. Marco then headed the fridge and served Ace a glass of water, with a painkiller, and himself a cup of orange juice.

They ate silently until Ace finally decided to speak

"The last councilor I had tried to sexually assault me."

"...what?!" Marco asked alarmed but not so much as to jump up and yell

"You wanted to know something about me, that's one of the reasons I don't like adults. He wasn't the first either.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

_Hello there. I was working on this chapter and noticed a lot of things. I wrote this a few years ago and had uploaded it before but took it down (with all of my other stories) after closing my account. So I'm revising the material chapter by chapter. My writing style has changed a lot since I wrote this and I honestly do not remember anything from this storyline so I am excited to see where things go. I hope you are enjoying the story so far._


	4. Some Truth

"What do you mean he wasn't the first?! Why didn't you say anything?!" Marco asked, pissed, as he put his burger down starring at Ace

"It's not like anyone would believe me anyway. Remember I'm the no-good troublemaker who says nothing but bullshit. I was blackmailed by another faculty member once too. I ended up getting suspended for a week after the 'favor' he asked me to do."

"You should have gone to Oyagi he would have…"

"...done something. Come on Marco get real. The last time someone actually took me seriously was when I was beating the shit out of them. No one would have believed me. Anyways I know how to handle people like him now. Like I said it' not the first time."

"Ace, I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. We didn't even know each other back then. It's not like you could have helped someone you didn't know."

"Who was he?"

"huu?"

"His name. What was his name"

"Forget it. He's not at the school anymore"

"I'm not just going to let this go!"

Ace let out a sigh in discomfort. He looked up at Marco, knowing he really wasn't going to let this go.

"Let's play a game," he said cheerfully

"Don't avoid my question"

"I'm not. I'll answer anything you want of you answer anything I ask. I mean ANYTHING"

"Fine, I'll go first. Who was the man?" Marco continued

"Hisa Yoshito. My turn, what do you plan to do with that information?"

"If he's done it once, it's likely he's done it even more…" he replied sternly

"Oh, I definitely wasn't the first! He was pretty arrogant and cocky, the kind you only get with experience" Ace scoffed "But I already dealt with him so I don't see what else you can do."

"and by that you mean…?"

"I broke his hand" Ace grinned. "He quit after that."

Marco couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "And he didn't…"

"Nope, you got you to question out already. It's my turn. Why did you accept this job, I mean to watch over me. Most people would have refused or have been bitches about it, but you didn't. Why?"

"It was a favor for Oyagi. He said you were a troubled kid and wanted for you to have someone to be able to talk to. He actually does that a lot. Our family is pretty much all kids he's helped out."

"That's still not a good reason to force someone into my life. I don't need a life coach. Anything I do is completely my decision, and no one should get involved like that" Ace said somewhat angry. "Listen I don't hate you or anything but in any other scenario I would have dropped out and…"

"and what… Continue your underground fighting career?" Marco interrupted

"I respect your old man, that's the only reason I put up with 'rules' you set up. You and I both know that they are going overboard and that you can't fail me for not showing up to these 'meetings' as long as my grades are good. Which they are." Ace rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his food.

"If you know that then why to show up at all" Marco asked

"That's another question." Ace said smirking

Ace looked at the painkiller and took it, then drank some water. Marco decided to take the two wash the plates as Ace took the medicine. There was silence but it wasn't awkward in any way.

Ace liked Marco, he was a nice guy but he knew he needed to cut his personal ties. He was getting emotionally attached which would become a problem sooner or later. The most important thing was survival. And no one knew better than Ace what it takes to survive. If Marco were to get any more involved with him than he would end up in the same danger as Ace.

"Blackmail?" Marco asked

"It's a long story."

"Anything else you wanna tell me"

"You should know plenty already. Haven't you read my file?"

More silenced followed. Marco took a second to think of what to say not knowing what he should say. He had and there was plenty of material to read from it. But he knew Ace wasn't a bad guy. And even before meeting Ace, he could tell the boy never did anything without reason.

"How do you do it?" Marco asked

"Do what?"

"Take it all. The lies, abuse, false accusations?"

"It's something I'm used to I guess."

Marco frowned at the words. No one should have to get used to things like that.

He placed the last dish in its place then turned to Ace who seemed to be in a daze.

"What do you think of me? Honesty?" Ace asked quietly

Marco stopped. He stood still thinking of what to say.

"I…" Marco was interrupted by Ace's phone ringing before he could continue. Ace looked confused but he took his phone out and answered.

"Lu?" he asked confused. It wasn't often that Luffy used his phone

"Ace! Are you alright!? I thought you got into some trouble!"

"I'm fine Lu." Ace smiled in relief

"Really! Are you sure? I heard you went driving dead drunk last night. Where are you?"

Before Ace responded he heard a loud movement and some arguing. Soon enough Zoro was the one who was speaking.

"Hey, where are you. Luffy's been worried since you never came home after you stormed off. Zoro said, irritation in his tone

"Tell him not to worry. I'm at Marco's place"

"Pass him to me"

"Why?"

"Just do it Ace!"

"Alright then. Geez, Zoro." Ace looked at Marco and handed him the phone

"It's my little brother's boyfriend, he wants to talk to you for some reason."

Marco took the phone and placed it by his ear, confused as to why the man wanted to talk to him.

"Hello?" Marco said

"Marco!" Zoro yelled

"Yes?"

"Is Ace alright? He doesn't have anything broken right?"

"Yea he's fine," Marco said smiling. Someone was looking after Ace.

"Good. I wanted to let you know something. Ace is having a hard time right now so be careful with him."

"What do you mean?"

"I knew he didn't tell you! Around this time of the year, he gets really depressed. You see it's the death anniversary of his brother Sabo. He gets drunk and does dangerous things, more than usual. Ace really likes you and that's not something you should take for granted. He has a hard time letting people in so please watch over him."

"Don't worry I will" replied taken by surprise

"Thanks, Marco. Ohh I almost forgot! Don't leave him alone at all for the next week. He needs to have someone with him at all times or he'll run off to another underground fight!"

"I won't let him out of my sight"

Zoro quickly hugs up, not giving Ace the opportunity to talk with his brother again. Ace questioned Marco about their conversation but Marco didn't answer.

"Come on I have a right to know!" Ace argued

"Go get some rest"

"But I'm not tired!"

"..."

"Marco if you don't tell me I swear to god I will tackle you and force it right out of you"

"Ohh is that supposed to be a threat?" Marco said tauntingly

"That's it!"

Fortunately during their conversation earlier they had moved to the living room, so there was plenty of space for them to argue.

Ace jumped at Marco and pushed him to the ground. Ace found himself straddling Marco. He grabbed Marco's arms and had them pinned down on each side of his body. He smiled in triumph and gave a small victory laugh.

"Don't underestimate me, Mr. Marco," he said

Marco raised his eyebrow, then seconds later Ace found himself pinned to the ground. This time his hands were pinned above his head and Marco sat right between his legs. He tried to struggle but Marco had complete control over his body.

"What was that about making me talk" He replied leaning closer to Ace

Ace wiggled around, still trying to break free but it was pointless. Finally, he stopped struggling. Marco was stronger than he imagined. He took a deep breath to ready himself for another attempt to break free. But damn, Marco smelled so damn good. Like seriously, what kind of fucking situation did he put himself in. Ace was literally being pinned down by a sexy… no! What the fuck! Ace thought.

"Give up yet" Marco smirked, overly enjoying himself

Marco found himself leaning closer to Ace stopped when their noses touched. His breathing became heavy and his heart began to race. Ace closed his eyes and slowly leaned in placing his lips against the olders. Marco froze, completely taken by surprise but soon he kissed back. they were both engulfed in a passionate kiss. Marco moved his tongue asking for access into the younger' mouth. Ace complied and opened letting Marco enter. Ace gave a soft moan into the kiss. Ace wrapped his legs around Marco's waist, pulling his body closer to Marco's.

Both needing air, they pulled away and stared at each other with lustful eyes.

Realizing what he had just done, Marco quickly letting go of Ace. He got up and wiped his mouth looking away from Ace

SHIT. Marco thought.

"Sorry, I didn't…" Marco said trying to regain his composure. After all the shit he knew Ace went through because of his old advisor, he went on and added himself to the list if creeps.

AHH FUCK Ace thought. After he was just telling himself to not get involved with Marco anymore.

"Don't be. It's my fault. I should leave." Ace responded

"Wait!" Marco yelled turning back but Ace had already made it out the door.


	5. Guardian

_Hey there. So I don't remember if I mentioned this already but Mentor was actually written a few years ago. I completed the serious but since it's been so long I went back to make corrections. I completely forgot what happens so I'm discovering the serious of events Ace and Marco deal with right along with you. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

TToTT

"That explains why he doesn't trust anyone at the school or anywhere else for that fact" Whitebeard said as he placed his hands over his mouth.

He exhaled deeply and leaned back on his chair. Marco sat still waiting for what Whitebeard would say next but before Whitebeard could say anything they were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was the middle of the school day, and Whitebeard was not expecting anyone to appear at his office.

"Come in," Whitebeard said

"Sorry for the intrusion," Tashigi said as she opened the door

"Smoker, Tashigi? What are you doing here?" he asked

Smoker and Tashigi walked in, closing the door behind them, and stood in front of Whitebeard's desk.

"Portgas D. Ace" Smoker said

"What about him?" Marco questioned

"We need to speak to him"

"What about?" Marco asked getting angry for some odd reason

"Relax. We're not here to arrest the boy" Smoker replied letting out a breath of smoke

"Then what are you here for?" Whitebeard asked

"As you know Portgas D. Ace has a history of getting involved in serious situations. We discovered a set pattern that usually occurs around this time of the year. We simply need to check his state to see if he is likely to cause more trouble." Tashigi responded

"And if his 'state is not well?" Marco asked

"Then we will have to take the boy in our custody," Tashigi said, adjusting her glasses.

Garp liked to keep an eye on his grandkids, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to send a few officers to check on them. While he didn't particularly like getting involved in their personal life, Ace was still a minor. As a result, he did take some measures to ensure his well being. Although they didn't always work.

"Well, I can assure you he is in good shape," Marco said as his temper was starting to overwhelm him, which was unusual for him

"What makes you so sure?" She asked curiously

"I'm sure you already know he's been working with Ace for a few months now, otherwise you wouldn't have come here," Whitebeard said

Tashigi adjusted her glasses while Smoker took another breath of his cigar.

"Since then his academic performance has improved, his attendance is great, and even gotten reports for the teachers that his attitude has improved" Whitebeard stated

"Really?!" Tashigi asked surprised yet happy

"What about now?" Smoker interrupted "That was before this month started correctly. As we said, it's the timing of it. Has he declined, even by an inch?"

"I can assure you, everything is being handled. But I can see that no matter what we say you won't be satisfied." Whitebeard answered "Marco bring the boy"

Marco turned to look at Whitebeard who gave him a small nod. For some reason, Marco had an uneasy feeling about the whole thing. But still, Marco nodded back and began to head out of the office.

"By the way Officer Smoker, there is a matter I wanted to discuss with you about an old councilor we used to have…" Whitebeard continued

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ace sat staring at the outside world from his desk in the back corner of the classroom. The room was filled with chatter but Ace kept silent, ignoring everything around him. He was bored and depressed and really wanted to leave. He had already planned to go visit Law tonight for a drink. But this time he wasn't planning on going overboard like the last time. The last thing he wanted was to have Marco yell at him again. He let out a loud sigh and looked at the front of the room where Brook, the music teacher, was telling some bone jokes to some students.

As Ace was about to ask to be excused for the restroom, the front door suddenly slid open and Marco walked in. The entire class went silent and Brook walked over to him. They had a small conversation which ended with Ace being called out of class. Somewhat nervous, Ace gathered his things and left the room with Marco. It was the first time he had seen the man since their kiss...

As they exited the rooms chatter returned and Ace had a pretty good idea that some of the chatter was about his bad reputation.

"What's going on?" Ace asked curiously with a crooked smile.

It was the first time Marco had taken him out of class.

"Smoker's here to see you" Marco replied as they turned around the corner

"Smokey? Why?" His smile disappeared and a somewhat angry tone appeared

"You'll see," Marco said glancing back at Ace, giving him a reassuring smile that he hoped would calm him down.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ace was led to Marco's office where Smoker and Tashigi waited. After they entered Ace was greeted by Tashigi and given a grunt from Smoker. Ace gave Smoker a rude introduction and was rather polite towards Tashigi. He then took a seat in one of the chairs and folded his arms and stared out the window. Ace had a pretty good idea of what they were there for but was hoping to get things over with quickly.

"Mr. Marco you can leave," Tashigi said

Marco nodded then gave Ace one last look before leaving the room. His bad feeling hadn't gone away. He didn't feel right leaving Ace alone with the officers. But he shrugged it off and made his way to Whitebeard's office to finish their discussion.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"I didn't do anything" Ace stated calmly but in an obviously pissed mood

"We know" Tashigi responded

"Then why the fuck are you here?" he said, turning to look at Smoker.

"We know what month it is," Smoker said calmly

"Everyone does you asshole," Ace said

"Ace! We just don't want you to get into anything serious again" Tashigi yelled

"Look, whatever I do is none of your concern so back off. I don't care if the old man sent you." Ace replied, leaning his head onto his hand.

"It is if you decide to pull something stupid like last year" Smoker yelled

"No one was hurt," Ace said softly

"But you almost died," Tashigi said sadly but firm

Ace stayed quiet moving his gaze back to the window. Tashigi let out a sigh and Smoker lit his cigars.

"Garp decided that you need some supervision for a little while. We have asked your teachers to keep an eye on you and the police department will do the same." Tashigi continued

"What the hell I don't need the cops watching my every move! I already have the damn school on my ass. I don't need you either!" Ace yelled

"It's what's best for you…."

"You better back off or I really will do something you'll hate! I've dealt with his bullshit all my life but not this time! BACK OFF!" Ace said threateningly.

Smoker and Tashigi stayed quiet. They were both honestly stunned. Never had they seen Ace this mad before.

Ace stood up and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"What now, Smoker sir?" Tashigi asked concerned

"Continue with everything, just make sure he doesn't notice our presence. We don't want him snapping like last year."

"Yes sir.."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The sky was beautiful. It was an ocean blue with a few fluffy white clouds floating around it. A cool breeze gave the trees a gentle push and gave Ace some relief. He laid on the school's roof taking in the fresh air. The sun was shining brightly but every now and then the clouds gave Ace some shade.

Ace yawned and closed his eyes as he covered his face with his jacket. He was stressed and really needed to get some time to relax. If he didn't then his narcolepsy would get worse. Lately, his attacks happened at good times but with what was happening…

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Ace heard

He removed the jacket that covered him and stared at the source of the commotion. Marco stood above him, crossing his arms, giving Ace an irritated look.

"What do you want?" Ace asked covering his face again

"Pissed I see" Marco responded.

He moved beside Ace and took a seat next to him, pulling out a cigarette in the process

"Very"

"What happened?" Marco asked as he placed the now lit cigarette on his lips

"They didn't tell you?"

"They said some things but I wanted to know what you view on this is."

"Seems I can't be trusted on my own anymore. The police are going to keep an eye on me along with every teacher in this school, but I'm not going to let that happen. They always come up with stupid shit that I always have to deal with but not this time." Ace said getting up

"..."

"What are you going to do?" Ace asked

"What I have been doing" Marco replied

"And that is…"

"Becoming someone you can trust"

"... you're crossing a line you know"

"How so?" Marco asked intrigued

"Some things you can't turn back from. I'm one of those things. If you get any more involved with me you'll come to regret it"

"You can't be sure of that" Marco said exhaling smoke

"Yes, I do! Everyone does so you should back off before you become one of those people!"

Ace said loudly looking away. Somehow those words hurt him

"Why? Tell me why I'll regret it. What aren't you telling me Ace?" Marco asked firmly

"Marco just walk away, if I get any closer to you then…"

"Then what Ace?..."

"The last fucking person who got to close almost died that's what! Don't you get it! Just fucking leave me alone I don't need anyone else getting hurt because of me!" Ace screamed, nearly breaking down again.

He clenched his fist and attempted to calm himself. Marco, on the other hand, was calm and relaxed as far as what Ace could tell.

Next thing he knew, Marco was wrapping his arm around him. Ace tried to

pull away but Marco refused to let go.

"I said let go, Marco!"

"I'm not letting go and don't expect me to leave you alone just because of what you said. If the reason you keep pushing everyone away is because of this, then you're acting like the child I know you not…"

"You don't know anything Marco! What could you possibly understand! You know nothing about me!"

"and whose fault is that!"

Stunned, Ace stopped struggling and stood frozen and Marco hugged him tighter.

"Listen everything is going to be alright"

"No, it's not… something bad always happens that's why you should stay…

"away? Aren't I the one who's supposed to be protecting you?" Marco smiled as he let go of Ace

Ace looked away and took a seat again. Marco looked down at him and sat next to him. He looked at the sky with Ace, leaving a long silence. As the bell rang signaling the lunch break Marco looked at Ace and said

"I'm not going anywhere so stop pushing me away. I won't regret it Ace and I never will."

Ace's lip quivered and he slowly turned to Marco and saw him smile as he held out his hand

"Now let's go get something to eat"

Ace hesitated for a moment but he reached for Marco's hand and took it. Marco lifted him up and gave him a small pat on the shoulder.

"Now where do you want to eat?" he asked as the headed to the stairway


	6. The Boss

Unlike usual, the past week had been good. Ace hardly got into any fights, was doing well in school, and wasn't that depressed. He was also spending a lot of time with Marco. It hadn't been long since the two of them had met and Ace had developed feelings for him. Although, he never acted out on them, aside from the one time.

Sabo's death anniversary grew closer, but Ace wasn't in his usual pit of despair. He even planned on staying away from the underground fights this year. The boss would get mad, but Ace was prepared. He had already decided to end things with the underground company. It was getting too dangerous. Even though he was technically a free fighter, it wouldn't be easy to separate from the company. There were going to be repercussions, but Ace was prepared.

He had made enough money from it anyways. It was the way he made it out of the streets when he was younger. It's what helped Ace get the apartment, but now he had a decent job at a nightclub and a few other occasional jobs when they appear.

Ace lifted his arms and stretched as he yawned. He got up from his bed and headed to his kitchen, feeling his hunger grow stronger. Opening the refrigerator, he got a weird feeling. It felt like sorrow but had a hint of anxiety. Shaking it off, he grabbed some pasta Sanji had given him earlier and stuck it into the microwave. Waiting for it to finish heating up, he pulled out his cell phone and checked the time. It was starting to get late, but he still had time to go goof off. The microwave beeped, giving Ace the signal to begin devouring his food.

Once he was done, he headed toward the door entrance and headed out for a stroll.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The sun had finished setting and Ace found himself wandering in the empty part of town. The streetlights had lit the way on the pavement, leading him to who knows where. Either way, the walk was calming him. While he was walking, he checked to see if anyone was following him. He was mostly looking for the cops. After all, they did say they were going to keep an eye on him. If they were, Ace would just have to blow something up to distract them and runoff.

He did notice two men following him, but they weren't the cops. Ace kept walking at his normal pace, keeping a close eye on the men behind.

Ace turned the corner to wait for them in the alleyway. Once they turned into the alley, Ace quickly jumped on top of one of the men. He landed a punch on one guy then headed to get the other. Before he could though, one of them yelled out.

"Wait! We're not here for a fight" the one in the black hoodie yelled.

"Then why are you following me?" Ace asked as he positioned himself to fight again.

"We are supposed to give you a message" the one who was on the ground said.

"Give it then!"

"Boss wants to know when you'll be ready to fight. He said he is ready to set everything up for you to fight."

"Tell him I'm not fighting this year."

"He won't be happy," the other said, lifting himself from the ground

"Well, I don't give a damn. I'm not fighting." Ace responded

Ace started to walk away but just as he was about to take his fifth step he stopped and turned around.

"Tell the boss I'm done." Ace said before leaving.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The cafe was full like it always was, with laughter and chatter. Sanji was in the kitchen cooking while Nami and Vivi took orders. Robin was in the back office taking care of the paperwork while brook was playing the piano for the customers. The sun was shining brightly and its light was illuminating the cafe, giving it a warmer feeling.

Ace sat quietly at one of the tables. He was waiting for an order he had placed not too long ago. Across from him was Zoro who had just come to see Sanji. They were both sitting quietly and stared off at the outside world.

Ace let out a sigh and placed his head on the table. Zoro turned to look at Ace.

"What's going on with you?" he asked

"Nothing really" Ace responded, turning to look at Zoro

"How are things? Luffy's worried you know."

"Yea I know. I'm trying to keep away from trouble as I promised."

"How are things with Marco?"

Ace popped up and smiled

"I like him"

"No more confusion?"

"Nope. I like him?"

"So what do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to be a good boy" he smirked

"..."

"But I'm not going to try to get anywhere with him."

"Why? I thought you like him."

"Yea but I can't have him getting involved with my shit. He said he didn't bother him but …"

"So isn't that good enough. He said he didn't mind so why not go for it?"

"I don't want him to get involved. I like him enough to stay away. Besides, he's probably just trying to be a good counselor, "

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"So, what's up with the kid?" Thatch asked

"He's getting better," Marco replied

"Really?! Wait we're talking about that kid who caused all those problems for years right? The one that every teacher hates? The one who set that room on fire? The one that…"

"Yes, Thatch!"

"Wow, you are good," he said taking another gulp of rum "When you said you were going to become a counselor, I'll admit I had my doubts"

"..."

"So, what do you think of the kid?"

A slight blush appeared on Marco's cheek, something Thatch was trained to see.

"Ohh I see!" He smiled evilly "How far did you go?"

"I don't know what you are talking about" Marco replied quickly continuing his drink.

"Really? Cause the blush on your cheek say otherwise" Thatch said pointing to his cheek and started laughing.

"Shut up Thatch," Marco said slightly irritated.

"Calm down, you know I'm just teasing. But seriously what did you do?" Thatch asked

"We just kissed," Marco said calmly

"Well look at you! Seems like you still have a few tricks up your sleeve" he continued

"I shouldn't have"

"So, you regret it." Thatch stated, "why?"

"He's just a kid, and a troubled one at that."

"I don't see the problem"

"It's just not the right time"

"You really need to stop making up excuses"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ace decided that he would spend the whole week at Law's place. Luffy refused to leave him alone unless he was with someone and for this week that person was Law. He didn't want to bother Marco and Law was technically someone who would 'watch' him. This week was always the hardest. Sabo's death anniversary was only a few days away and he was feeling as shitty as ever. He wanted to go lay in a hole and die but he couldn't. Dying was not an option.

Law walked into the room and took a seat next to Ace. He pulled out a cigar and lit it, offering Ace one in the process. Ace took it then focused his attention back to the TV. It played a comedy show that he enjoyed. Law, on the other hand, was trying to figure out why Ace liked it so much. It wasn't that amusing.

"I have to work tonight so don't stay up too late. Your brother says to stay inside and out of trouble."

"Yea I know. He worries too much." Ace said somewhat mad but with a hint of happiness

"He has a point you know. You do a lot of crazy things this time of year and you almost died last year." Law responded as he put his jacket on.

"So what? I have the right to do whatever I want. I didn't ask for anyone's help and you know it! Besides you have no right so say anything Law. You're the one who gives me all the alcohol." Ace said in a serious tone

"I do it because I know your pain. Even if it's a little it helps numb the pain?" Law replied calmly "You're the one who goes overboard. I didn't tell you to go and…"

"Sorry…"

"I won't be the thing in your path. You choose what you want to do and I'll stand by you."

"Law?"

"Yea?"

"Why do you help me? I know you say things about having been where I am and all, but that doesn't really explain anything. You got away from the underground company and you know I'm still with them and all… even if it a little. You know it's dangerous to be around me so why?"

"This is about Marco isn't it?"

Law sighed and walked over to Ace not taking a moment to let Ace respond

"Because you're an idiot. One that I care about." He smiled

Ace smiles and nagged at him for the 'idiot' part.

"Listen I'm running out of food so could you go get some, without eating it all. There's some money on the counter for you to use."

"I thought I was supposed to stay inside," Ace said sarcastically

"If you want to starve then be my guest" Law smirked

They both laughed. Then, Law made his way out. Ace walked over to the counter and grabbed to money. He placed it in his pocket then grabbed to house key Law had given him. Giving the room one last look he made his way out of the house and headed to the store

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The night was chilly and of course Ace liked it. Winter was coming and the time for the snow to fall was close. He smiled at the thought, but he was also scared of it. He didn't exactly have the best memories when it snowed. But the cold always felt like an embrace for some reason.

He shook away the thoughts and focused on getting to the store. It wasn't fair, all he had to do was turn the corner ahead and it would be just a few feet away. As he neared the turn, he noticed two figures walking towards him from across the street. Ace narrowed his eyes and looked at the figure, making sure to make it look as if he was just glancing in their direction. He got a bad feeling and decided to walk a little faster. He wasn't scared, obviously. He just knew if he got into any more trouble, he would cause trouble for Marco and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Ace was about to turn when he heard the two men running towards him. He felt one of them reach for him but before they could, Ace extended his leg and kicked him in the stomach. The man cried in pain and fell to the ground while the other took the defensive and readied himself for a fight. Ace moved quickly and jumped forward landing a blow on the man's chest. The man groaned and was forced back. But he was stronger than Ace thought and continued to fight back.

The other on the floor held his stomach and pushed himself to get back in his feet. Ace noticed the movement and gave the one in front of him a good kick on the side hoping to knock him down. He blocked though and the one behind him held both hands up in surrender. The other picked up on it and did the same.

Confused, Ace backed up but didn't put his guard down. They were both injured but not so much to have given up so easily.

"We're not here to fight," said the one who raised his hands first.

"Then what are you here for?" Ace asked making it obvious that he was upset

"Boss wanted us to give you a message" he responded

The other, the one who fought back, remained silent but placed his hands down and the other followed his movements. Ace placed his in his pockets and gave them both an angry look. They were there to send a message but, he knew they also were there to rough him up. Unfortunately for them, Ace wasn't an easy target to sneak upon.

The Boss was looking for him which was one of the worst possible scenarios he could possibly be in. The Boss was the head of the underground fights. He gave Ace his name and made him well known in the arena. Firefist Ace, one of the best fighters in the company.

They met one day when Ace beat some of him, lackeys, in an alley behind a bar. Impressed, he offered Ace the opportunity to fight for him in the underground company. Yes, he was mad, but he gave Ace an offer he just didn't want to refuse. He would fight whenever he pleased and get paid for it. The Boss was happy having him and always welcomed him with open arms. Every year Ace would return to fight and always one. Last year, however, was when things got out of hand…

"We'll bring you to him" the man continued

"Don't want to go" Ace stated firmly

The men looked at each other for a minute not knowing what to do.

"He says it's urgent" one replied in a somewhat worried manner

Ace knew it would be bad if he went now. If he did, he would fight. Marco kept popping into his mind. If something happened then Marco was bound to get involved. Since Marco refused to keep away, the boss would surely get involved and they would find a way to use him. He would definitely not let that happen. He needed to end things and now.

"Where?" Ace asked

"This way"

Ace nodded and followed the men to a car parked across the street.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Welcome Ace!" exclaimed the boss.

Ace remained silent looking at the man in front of him. They were in a large room filled with lots of expensive furniture and had a distinct smell of drug and alcohol. The man sat with a glass of wine in his hand. He smiled at Ace and looked as though he had never been happier.

"Boss we brought him as you asked," said one of the men

"Good job, now leave us and bring something for Ace to drink" he waved at them to leave

The men bowed and left the room, silently closing the door behind them.

"Now Ace why don't you take a seat and relax," he said moving his hand to point to the seat in front of him.

"Don't worry I won't be staying long" Ace stated coldly

"and why not?" the tone of his voice changed, but he attempted to hide it by smiling again. Ace noticed the change and knew it was going to be a hassle to get out of there. Though he wasn't in any danger now, he would be later.

"Is something wrong?" he continued

Ace took a second to think of what to say.

leave now while you can… a voice said in his head

"yea.." Ace said barely audible leaving Boss confused "I'm done. I don't want to fight anymore" he continued

"What's got you like this? You love to fight, don't you?! You've been coming here for years asking to fight and you're one of the best we have, are you really going to walk away?!" he said raising his voice

"..."

"Don't worry I'll set up a fight for you so you can get your thoughts back to where they belong"

"I'm done Boss or should I call you Doflamingo now?"

"You have some nerve"

"I won't be getting involved anymore and don't worry I won't tell anyone. Remember I don't want to get involved so have your men stay away from me."

"Fuu fu fuuuu!" laughed Doflamingo

"You'll be back. You may deny it, but you crave blood just like every other person in here. Just wait for it. You can leave for now, but I'll be waiting for you"

Ace began to turn to the door but Doflamingo said something that stopped him.

"I almost forgot to ask, how's that new counselor of yours doing" he smirked

"You keep him out of this!" Ace yelled

"Fuu fu fuuu… you just be careful Ace. Things are so dangerous nowadays."

"If something bad happens to him I swear I'll bring hell here and you know I can"

"See the blood lust in your eyes"

Ace averted his eyes and headed to the door. As he exited, he heard Doflamingo whisper something but he didn't turn, he kept walking

_I'll be waiting..._


	7. A Few More Days

Law got back home after a long night at work and he was mad as hell. Some guys just had to show up and start a fight. Not to mention one of his buddies tried to pick him up. Luckily the new bodyguard took care of them before they caused any more trouble. He had to admit Eustass was something else. The man had a great body, although his attitude wasn't pretty.

Law tossed his coat onto the couch and headed to his room to sleep. As he touched the door handle, he froze.

Silence

"Oi! Ace!?" He yelled looking around the room for any sign of him realizing it was too quiet

Getting no response, he opened the room to see if maybe he had dozed off in his bed.

Empty

He quickly headed to the table and looked to see if he left a note anywhere. Glancing across the room he didn't see a shred of paper. He let out a sigh and turned to open the refrigerator.

Empty

"Damn it Ace"

It was completely empty. Ace had never come home and if he had eaten all the food then there would have been some food wrappers left somewhere but there was nothing. Everything was exactly how he had left it. Law reached in his pocket and grabbed his phone. He pulled up Ace's contact. He pressed call and waited for Ace to answer but he kept getting his voicemail.

"I'm going to fucking kill you Ace"

He headed to the door and left hoping Ace hadn't gotten into any trouble. Especially since they were so close to that day.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sanji looked at the customers in the restaurant hoping to see a marimo sitting somewhere but sadly there was nothing in sight. He sighed and returned to the kitchen continuing to work on the orders.

"What's wrong Sanji?" Vivi asked as she places the dirty plates in the sink.

"Ohh nothing Vivi-chan" Sanji said forcing a smile

"Is it Zoro again?" Nami said coming in to give Sanji the new order

Sanji smiled in a way that told the girls Nami was right.

"What did he do? It doesn't have anything to do with him and Luffy now does it?" she continued

"Sanji we went through this already… Zoro loves you not Luffy, they just have a strong bond that's all" Nami said knowing that was the issue

"I know I just feel… ignored that's all. Ever since the month began they have been spending a lot of time together and I haven't really been able to be with him. I know Zoro's not cheating on me I just.." Sanji explained

"You know Sabo's death Anniversary is near and Luffy needs someone to be with him almost as badly as Ace does," Nami said

"That's why I'm not going to say anything," Sanji said turning his attention back to the food

"You should still say something Sanji. It's not good to hold anything in." Vivi said

"She's right. Tell Zoro how you feel. He should know. He still is your boyfriend. He needs to remember that." Nami smiled

"Thanks," Sanji said "Here's the order for table 7 and you're break is coming up so how about I make you guys a slice of Strawberry Fluff Pie," Sanji said looking back at the girls

"Sounds great!" Nami said widening her grin

Vivi giggled and they both headed out of the kitchen to tend to the customers.

"You think things will get better?" Vivi asked Nami as the door closed behind them

"There idiots and that alone tells us they will be ok" she sighed but then smiled

"Yea you're right," Vivi said

But that still doesn't relieve the bad feeling I have. I just hope everything will be fine.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Law ran to the convenient store that Ace was supposed to go to, hoping that maybe he was still there, or someone had seen him going somewhere. The cold air showed his breath and made him lose some of his strength.

When he arrived, he headed straight for the cash register. The man there seemed alarmed by his movements and took a step back.

"Have you seen a tallish guy come here at all? He has messy black hair with freckles, very attractive, and is falls asleep at random moments." Law said panting a little

"Sorry sir I have not seen anyone like that, I just got here." he stuttered

"What's going on?" a girl asked from behind

Law turned to look at her but before he could say anything the man told her that he was looking for someone. At the description of him her face lit up and she smiled.

"I remember him!" she exclaimed

"Really where?!" Law asked getting closer to her.

She blushed and backed up some readying herself to answer.

"When I was working earlier, I stepped out for some fresh air, and I saw him walking that way. I noticed he was with two guys and they left into one of their cars."

"Thanks!" he said as he ran out the door.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Marco looked at the clock wondering why Ace had not called or texted him. Normally he would text him to visit on Saturday. He hated leaving the house on Sundays so he always came for their sessions on Saturday sometime before lunch, that way Ace could fill up on Marco's food. It was eleven and he still didn't have a word.

He pulled out his phone and looked up Ace's number hoping that maybe he had just fallen asleep or was delayed by the rain.

After no response, Marco rubbed his temples and continued to call. He waited for the line to go through and to his luck Ace finally picked up. But there no sound, just silence.

"Ace are you alright?" he asked worried

"..."

"Ace?!"

"Yea I'm fine" Marco heard his voice was weak and somewhat painful

"Where are you?"

"Marco it's hot… my head… feels funny…"

Marco could hear Ace's heavy breathing and he began to panic.

"Where are you?!"

"...it's hot.."

"Ace listen to me, where are you?! I'll come and get you."

"no…"

"Ace? Ace!"

*click*

Marco looked at his phone hoping he didn't just hear the line end. He threw his phone back into his pocket and ran to the door. He had no idea where Ace was but that wasn't going to stop him from looking.

"Marco?!" he heard someone call from behind him

"Sorry but I'm busy right now" Marco stated as he headed to his car

"Is Ace with you?"

Marco stopped walking and looked at the man behind him.

"Who are you?"

"Name's Law, I'm a close friend of Ace's. Now is he with you?" he asked seriously

"No"

"Fuck…" Law turned and started running

"Wait! I'm coming with you. We can take my car."

"Sorry but I don't think that's a good idea"

"I just got off the phone with him. Something is wrong. You know him better than I do so the chances of us finding him are better."

"Wait?! What?! What did he say?"

"He said he was hot, and his head was feeling funny when he answered my call"

"What else?"

"That's all,"

"Great at least we know he isn't with them otherwise he would have been in better condition. Let's go I think I know where he is now."

Marco nodded and they both got into the car, though he wasn't really understanding what Law meant.

On their way over it was pretty silent other than Law giving directions. The ride itself took about 10 minutes and lead to the outskirts of town near a lake. They took a path across a field and parked near some trees. Marco knew that the city had a forest nearby, but he never actually went near it. It was much larger than he thought and closer.

As they got out of the car Law told him that Ace was most likely near the lake. Marco ran as fast as he could and as he did, he called out to Ace.

"Ace! Can you hear me?!" he yelled

"Marco! I found him!" Law yelled

Marco ran into the forest and saw Ace lying on the ground sleeping and Law checking his temperature

"He's running a fever and is wet, probably from the rain."

Marco got closer and picked up Ace bridal style. His breathing was heavy, and his body was hot.

"Let's get him to a hospital," Marco said

"No, we can't. There's a cabin nearby, we can use that."

"We need to take him to a hospital, not a cabin"

"Marco, I know you're new and all, but will you just shut up and listen. I'm a doctor and I know Ace well enough to know what he would want to do in situations like this."

"Fine lead the way"

Law turned and started walking towards the cabin. Marco followed. Fortunately, it was only a few minutes away and the path wasn't that wet. Once they reached the cabin Law lead the way to the main room.

"Watch him while I get the medical kit" Law stated

Marco placed him on the bed. He looked down at Ace who was red from the fever. He grabbed the blanket and covered him.

"Idiot. What did I tell you about pulling stupid stunts?" Marco said softly

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"What are you doing here?!" Ace yelled as he pointed his finger at Marco

"Ace calm down," Law said crossing his arms as he sat backward on the chair.

Ace looked at Law with angry eyes and turned to look at Marco who was, well, pissed too. Law glanced at Marco and knew it was a bad idea to bring him along. He was the only once besides Luffy who Ace told about this place.

"Why did you come?!" Ace yelled "Didn't I tell you to stay away not to come

Law sighed and stood up. He looked at Ace then said he would return after getting some more supplies. Ace nodded and got up to go with him as well, but Marco demanded that he lay back down. Law knew they needed some time alone, so he left quickly without saying anything else.

"Look I can take care of myself so you can just go home. I'll go tomorrow for our session so you don't need to worry!" Ace yelled as he wobbled from standing too soon.

"Ace for god's sake sit down!" Marco yelled pushing Ace down onto the bed making him sit. "Stop arguing with me and just do what I ask for once!"

Ace looked up at Marco and stayed silent. He turned over and laid on the bed facing the opposing direction. Marco sighed loudly, relieved that Ace listened. He placed his hands on the sheets and looked to Ace who was still breathing a little heavy from the fever.

"How are you feeling?" Marco asked calmly as he placed his hand over Ace's forehead.

When Ace realized what he was doing he jumped up and pushed Marco away from him. But Marco was stronger, and he didn't really move from his original position. Both of Ace's hands rested on Marco's chest and Marco just stared at him. Ace could feel his chest moving in and out. His hands began to tremble a bit from the quick change in the atmosphere.

"I…" Ace shuddered as he pulled away.

But before he could even finish his sentence Marco pulled his arm bringing Ace closer to his chest and quickly placed his lips over the others. He took advantage of his opened mouth to place his tongue inside. Ace moaned from surprise but tried to pull away. Marco felt Ace resist but as Ace pulled away, he pulled closer Finally losing the will to give up Ace kissed back. Soon enough they were both fighting for dominance. Ace lost but he didn't care, he just wanted to enjoy it.

Once both pulled away for air, Ace rested his head on Marco's chest. His breathing was heavy, from the fever and the kiss.

"Why do you make things so hard Ace?" Marco asked, placing a kiss on Ace's head.

He wrapped his arms around the youngers body and pulled him into a warm embrace. Ace blushed and held onto Marco as tightly as he could not want to let go.

"I should ask you that. I warned you before"

"Why should I listen to you if you can't even listen to me?" Marco smiled


	8. Severance

Ace slept on the bed, resting as Law had instructed. His fever had worsened and had caused him to blackout again. Marco waited in the living room for Law to finish. When he walked out of the room and headed to the dining table. He placed the medicine on the table then took a seat. Marco walked to him across him. He looked at Law but stayed quiet which Law took as 'speak'

"He'll be fine but he needs rest. If he overexerts himself then he won't get any better, which won't do anyone any good"

"what happened?"

"you know what ha..."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. What got him like this? He was fine the other day."

"If you really want really want to know then ask him"

"If I did, he would either ignore me or switch the conversation. I'd rather get everything from you then talk to Ace about it."

"Not sure if that's a good idea. He doesn't like others talking about his business." Law said focusing all of his attention on Marco

"I know, which is why I'm asking you and not anyone else. He trusts your judgment."

"Hmm" Law smiled "I see why he likes you so much"

Marco took a deep breath and looked back to Ace's room.

"Alright I'll tell you what I know but in exchange, you have to tell my why you of all people care so much and I don't the 'I just feel like helping' crap. I want to know the whole reason" Law said getting closer to Marco

"...At first, I was doing it because it was my job... but after I began to get close to him I…"

"fell for him?"

"… yea"

"Well, I won't lie and say I'm not surprised. I'm glad you're able to admit it" Law said "But somehow, you managed to get pretty far" he continued.

"What do you mean," Marco said turning back to Law

"Let's just say Ace talks about you a lot"

"..."

"I don't know if you know, but Ace's brother died a long time ago. Ace never told me the details, but it's had a huge impact on him. What I do know is that Ace blames himself for it. When I first met him, I found him collapsed in an alley. I helped him out and soon we started running into each other a lot. He told me he was known as FireFist Ace from the underground fights and I laughed thinking he was lying but I went one day, not telling you why, and it just so happened to be Ace who was fighting at the time. He had beat the other guys pretty badly but barely had a scratch on himself. We became close friends after that."

Marco stayed silent.

"He almost died last year you know. Got into a huge fight with some underground fighters outside the rink. After the fight, he ended up at one of their hideouts. Something happened, and Ace got out of control and started fighting with everyone there. When the cops arrived, Ace was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. His medical report showed that he had been stabbed three times, had a few broken ribs, and that he had a severe concussion" Law continued pouring some medicine into the soup he had made.

"I think I heard about this somewhere in on the news…" Marco said, pressing his hands together.

"They think he was trying to commit suicide. I mean who would expect to fight alone in enemy territory and expect to come out of it alive." Law smirked, stirring the soup "Like they'd believe him considering that all happened around the time Sabo's death anniversary. Anyways, his reputation as a fighter increased, and now the guy in charge of the underground fights calls Ace every year around this time. If I'm right something must have happened between him and the company for his to have come here."

Marco got up and thanked Law for telling him what happened. He grabbed his coat and left. Law stayed silent but was curious as to what Marco was planning. Law had done some information gathering about Marco after Ace mentioned him and knew a little about what he was capable of. He smiled to himself and headed to Ace's room.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"And to your right, we have Captain Buggy!" the announcer yelled as the crowd cheered.

Though it was secret, the arena was filled. Marco looked around, seeing if the man he was looking for was around. But he, of course, he couldn't see him, he was never one to be out in the open even if he was watching a big fight.

Marco headed to the VIP entrance.

"Woah where do you think you're going?" a guard said blocking Marco's way

"You should move. I'm not in a good mood." Marco replied

"Well look who's acting tough. Listen no one is allowed here unless you're a high ranked fighter or on the VIP list and you look like neither so get lost." the man replied laughing

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Get me another bottle," Doflamingo said to the server

"Right away sir" she replied

As his bottle was handed to him, the door slammed right opened and a man flew across the room. He hit a table causing Doflamingo's food to fall. He turned to look to the man standing at the door and shifted, now pissed.

"You should apologize before I kill you," Doflamingo said

"You always did have a short temper," the man said stepping forward

"It's been a while, Phoenix"

Doflamingo dismissed the server and she ran out as quickly as she could

"and what brings Marco the Phoenix commander of the Whitebeard Pirates back here," Doflamingo said smiling evilly

Marco walked just enough to give Doflamingo a good look at him. He kept both hands in his pockets and gave Doflamingo a pissed and annoyed look.

"itching for a fight in the ring?" Doflamingo continued, chugging down his drink

"Stay away from him,"

"Is that really why you came? After all this time I was hoping for you to come back to fight for me again. I miss the good old days. But to tell you the truth I don't need you anymore. Ace is so much more entertaining."

"Let him go"

"Why? He's mine and I can do whatever I want with him."

"He isn't your toy!"

"How scary," Doflamingo laughed "That poor kid. He would have died long ago if it wasn't for me and he can't leave unless I say so."

"I'm not asking permission,"

"You can't be serious. Just because you left this place to be with Whitebeard doesn't mean you can just walk in here and take my fighters!" Doflamingo yelled. He stood up quickly, throwing the bottle on the ground.

"He isn't you fighter anymore"

"What makes you so sure? Just because you walk in here and say he's not mine anymore doesn't mean he's not mine. He will always come back to this place" Doflamingo said smirking

"No, he won't. I can promise you that." Marco said turning to leave

"Marco!" Doflamingo yelled

"He will come back and you know it. I know you still crave blood as you did in the past. Whitebeard knows it too. Ace is the same, he craves it! Even more, than you did." he exclaimed


	9. You're Not Fine

Ace wobbled out of the room, looking for a glass of water. His fever wasn't as bad as earlier, but he was still having trouble getting around. He noticed Law was fast asleep on the couch with a medical book on his chest. Law always kept a book at the cabin, whenever either of them was having a hard time or wanted to get away from everything, they would go there to get away from everything. The cabin was abandoned and far enough from the city that no one would accidentally stumble upon it. Ace needed to think about his next move, so he came here. And while enjoying the sunset he had fallen asleep, but not from his narcolepsy. It was from exhaustion. He hadn't been able to sleep, aside from his usual attacks.

"You're awake?" Law yawned, covering his mouth with one hand

Ace filled a cup with water from the sink. He drank it quickly, then refilled the glass.

"Yea. It's so fucking hot, I needed a drink" Ace responded, taking another drink

Law sat up, placing the book he had on the table in front of him

"So, are you feeling well enough to head back to my place?" Law asked

"You know how to drive a motorcycle?"

"Nope. We're going to have to walk"

"Then no"

"Where'd you park that death machine anyway?"

*ring ring*

"It's pretty late. Wonder who it could be," Law muttered, looking at the collar ID on his phone "Shit it's the chairman. Sorry got to take this, I'll be back"

Ace headed to the couch, where Law had been sleeping. He took a seat and laid his head back, looking at the ceiling. He had a headache, which was making it painful to move around. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. Wasn't Marco there earlier? Or was that a dream?

After seeing Doflamingo, Ace was angry but also afraid. Doflamingo let him leave without any trouble, but he threatened Marco. He would go after him…

But then again, Marco wasn't his problem. He had been saying from the beginning to keep his distance. But Ace didn't listen to himself. the whole situation was his own fault. Ace wouldn't be able to forgive himself if anything were to happen to Marco. No, Ace couldn't leave Marco to fend for himself. Ace was the one who had feelings for him. He was the one who took advantage of Marco. He was even dreaming about him while he was sick.

… How did Doflamingo know about them? They only kissed twice, and it wasn't like he was screaming it to the whole world!"

"Ugh! this is so confusing!" Ace yelled

"What is?"

Ace jumped up! Surprised from the voice he heard. Marco stood at the entrance, in the process of removing his coat.

"Marco?" Ace said confused, his legs wobbling

"Yea?" Marco replied, making his way towards Ace

Ace's legs gave in, and he fell back on the couch. He hissed in pain, moving too quickly only made his headache worse.

"Don't push yourself, you had a pretty bad fever earlier and you haven't recovered yet"

"I'm fine."

"You were unconscious in a forest where it was cold and raining. Who knows how long you were out there? You could barely even speak to me on the phone. You are not fine." Marco replied

He sat across Ace, crossing his arms in frustration.

"I just came for some fresh air and fell asleep. It wasn't anything serious." Ace said, half lying "Anyways, it's four in the morning, shouldn't you be home?" He continued, trying to change the conversation quickly.

"How long do you plan on lying to me?"

"What do you want Marco?" Ace said, looking the man straight in the eyes

"Doflamingo…"

Ace's eyes widened. Where did that come from?

"Do you plan on fighting for him again?" Marco continued

"That's none of your business," Ace's said, his tone somewhat angry. But how did he know about Doflamingo, only a handful of people knew he was the head of the underground company.

Ace had decided to go back. But he wasn't about to tell Marco that.

"Oi! Ace I'm leaving!" Law yelled, peaking through the doorway. "Are you going to be alright without… when did Marco get here? Never mind, Marco you in charge"

And he was gone.

"Why the hell are you in charge?" Ace pouted.

"Isn't it obvious. You clearly can't take care of yourself" Marco said slightly annoyed

"Forget it I'm going home,"

Ace stood up quickly and started to walk away. Marco got up and grabbed Ace's arm then picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder. He headed towards the bedroom while Ace squirmed, trying to get off, demanding that Marco let him go. Once inside the room, Marco threw Ace onto the bed. Ace hissed, the quick movement causing the pain in his head to worsen.

"What the fuck Marco!?" he yelled

It took a moment for his head to settle, as soon as it did, he tried getting up again. But Marco pushed him back down. This time he straddled him and pinned Ace's arms above his head.

"Marco...! Damn it, let go… of me!" He said, struggling to break free

"ACE!" Marco yelled

Ace froze. He looked up to meet Marco's eyes.

"TALK TO ME!" he continued

"I CAN'T! WHY DON'T YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND!" Ace yelled back.

His pained expression almost broke Marco.

"WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE YOU?! DON'T YOU REALIZE THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. I NEVER ASKED YOU TO GET CLOSE TO ME!"

"Ace…"

"YES! I plan on fighting for him again! I don't wanna keep fighting. But I have to, in order to survive… in order to protect the people, I care about. So, tell me, how the fuck I'm not supposed to fight again?!" Tears now flowing down Ace's face

"Depend on me! Ask for help!" Marco yelled, getting closer to Ace

"HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!"

Ace headbutted Marco, and he managed to break free of Marco's hold. He pushed Marco down and reverse their roles. Now he was the one on top, holding Marco down. Adrenaline flowing through him, making the pain tolerable enough to make these movements.

"I've told you from the beginning that I would become someone you can depend on. Do my words mean nothing to you?" Marco asked

He didn't move. Ace's grip wasn't strong. If he wanted, he could have easily gotten out from under him. Tears began to flow down Ace's face, falling onto Marco's cheeks. Marco wanted to hold Ace and tell him everything would be fine. But Ace needed to let out everything he was holding in. So, he didn't move

"You have no idea what I am dealing with… It's not something that you could even begin to understand! Let alone help me with…" he said letting his grip go.

"Firefist," Marco whispered

Ace held his breath.

"I'm not an idiot. And I don't need protection. Doflamingo threatened me, didn't he? To get you to keep fighting."

"How did you know?" Ace said shocked.

"If you wanted out all you had to do was tell me, I would have taken care of it," Marco said, reaching for Ace's cheek. He gently rubbed his cheek, pushing the tears away.

"And what would you have done? Tell Doflamingo yourself that I'm not fighting anymore?" Ace laughed mockingly

"I already did,"

Ace froze.

"Wait, what?!" he yelled, in disbelief

"I told you, didn't I? Depend on me. I'm not someone who needs protection."

Marco sat up, Ace still sitting between his legs. He put his arms around Ace, bringing him close enough that their noses were touching.

"How are you even here right now? When did this happen? Wait, you did this before even asking me?! What the fuck Marco!"

Marco laughed

"Well, I wasn't planning on letting you go back even if you wanted to. Doflamingo is dangerous. And your reputation for being a good fighter would only lead you into bigger problems. I worked really hard to get you where you are now to just let you ruin it all."

"Hey! Stop talking about me like I'm a little kid!" Ace pouted

"Then stop acting like one then,"

Silence fell in the room. Ace wasn't sure what to say.

"Exactly what is your relationship with Doflamingo? I mean I've never heard of anyone just walk up to him, like your saying you did, and come out of it unharmed. You look alright"

"You know Whitebeards is my adopted father,"

"yea?"

"We met in the underground company, after one of my fights."

"Wait! You used to fight?!"

"You say wait a lot you know," Marco chuckled

"I do not! Either way, this is way too much information to put on a guy." Ace blushed softly, now realizing how close the two were.

"Then I'll explain another time"

"No, keep going!"

"To sum it up, Whitebeard was the one who got me out of the arena. Doflamingo is a dangerous guy, but Whitebeard is even more dangerous. Doflamingo can't lay a hand on any of the Whitebeards crew, or else it'll mean war. And that wouldn't be good for his business. It's still not the best idea to walk in there and cause a scene, but I let my emotions get the better of me. I'm lucky that I was able to get out of there without a scratch." Marco smirked

Ace rolled his eyes. Marco could be very cocky when he wanted to be. Today was no exception. He felt relieved that his problem was taken care of. He still had no clue as to what happened but nonetheless, he was relieved.

Marco touched Ace's forehead, checking to see if his temperature had gotten any better. He was still too warm for comfort. But thankfully it was much lower than earlier.

"You know under any other circumstances, sitting like this, I would have fucked you so hard you wouldn't have been able to walk for a week" Marco whispered into Ace's ears


End file.
